Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 My Mustang GT has a feature that displays average fuel economy, constantly updated in "real time." I'm getting exactly 22.0 MPG... and that's in town, no highway driving. Pretty good for a car that the EPA rated at 15 city, 23 highway. With gas back up around three bucks a gallon in my area, I'm a happy camper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc @ MPC Motorsports Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Okay, I'll play. What is your self-calculated MPG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 No self-calculation needed... the car does it for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf15 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Yo ! Tinman ! Are you going to the I Hobby Expo this year ? The Old Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 That's not bad at all, I can't get over the EPA estimate of 15 MPG! Modern cars should be estimated much better than that. Heck, my old 1990 T-Bird with it's 3.8 Liter V6 used to do as good as your Stang, it would get around 20 in town and 26 on the highway. My 1990 F350 4x4 dually diesel dually even gets 15 MPG around town, and that's even with it using a gallon of oil a month! Oh and by the way, my MPG's are done the old fashioned way, I don't have a fancy computer to do it for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Cohen Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 My 1999 Chrysler Concorde LXi 3.2L has the same feature. I watch it on a regular basis. City driving is 25MPG, highway 35MPG and sometimes more. My highest was 40.1MPG on a long highway run with no stops, cruise control set at about 110K, 68MPH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Zoom Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 No self-calculation needed... the car does it for me! Everyone with a built-in MPG display should self-calculate for several tanks, because the MPG displays on cars are generally optimistic by about 10%. Of course the car mfg. wants you to tell everyone about your "great" mileage, and want you to feel good about it too. Or don't self-calculate if you don't want to know the truth and want to keep on bragging about your mileage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 That's pretty impressive for a performance car! As Zoom pointed out, I'd check it myself if I were you. I check all my cars at each fill-up. I've found it a fairly good indicator of of the car's over-all condition. My '71 Delta 88 with a 4bbl 350 and HEI gets 11 MPG around town and 22 on the highway... at 90 MPH! I once checked it on a 250 mile freeway trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Zoom Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 I've never had any issue with getting at least as good as what the EPA says on the sticker; my 88 Mustang 5.0 sedan, 5 speed w/3.08 axle averaged about 21 MPG in suburban driving, and would get anywhere from 27-29 MPG highway...that was using the old fashioned method of calculation. Legal freeway speeds are higher now, and with the 10% ethanol garbage gasoline we are forced to use here that seems to instantly reduce fuel economy by 10% at least on my older cars, I would imagine I wouldn't be able to get those numbers on that Mustang today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 Everyone with a built-in MPG display should self-calculate for several tanks, because the MPG displays on cars are generally optimistic by about 10%. Ok, I'll take off 10%... I'm still happy at 20 MPG! (for a car rated at 15 city). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 Everyone with a built-in MPG display should self-calculate for several tanks, because the MPG displays on cars are generally optimistic by about 10%. Self-calculate? Then I guess you'd have to assume that your odometer wasn't lying to you, too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc @ MPC Motorsports Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Ok, I'll take off 10%... I'm still happy at 20 MPG! (for a car rated at 15 city). But, how fun is it driving a Mustang at what, 2/10ths to get that MPG? Like Jay Leno has been quoted, "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow." I drive a modded Toyota Yaris with a CAI, cat back exhaust, TRD suspension and 17" performance rubber. It's no Mustang, but I can drive it 8/10ths all day long and get 30 MPG. If I drive it like Grandpa, I can get 35 MPG in town and over 40 on the road. Congrats on 20+ in the Mustang, BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Self-calculate? Then I guess you'd have to assume that your odometer wasn't lying to you, too... My odometer doesn't lie to me. But it does tend to be quite sarcastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 BTW - I've heard that Honda turns up their Odometer calibration to the upper end of the threshhold, so as to display MORE Miles than actually driven - in an attempt to garner "high mileage usage" status. " Wow! my Honda has 197 thousand miles on it & It's still running strong... (because it only really has 175,000 on it.......). it also produces more frequent routine maintenance schedules... I've always suspected that same car odometers aren't correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elan Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Remember in the old days we used to brag about how FAST our rides were! Now we brag about MPG? Oh,how I miss the '60's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 I've always wondered how accurate those dashboard MPG displays were ever since I became familiar with the feature in my old Lincoln Town Car- is this barge REALLY traveling to the tune of 25 MPG? Sure, under perfect conditions a Town Car MIGHT get 25 (an a good, long stretch of interstate), but the number on the dash never quite met up with the 'old-school' calculations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drball Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 My 11 GT is currently getting 16 MPG with the update computer. I am not a lead foot either. But I do not care because I did not buy this car for the mileage- I always wanted a muscle car and since this is truly a modern version I had to have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhess Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 My 2007 Fusion (2.3 4-cylinder/5-speed manual) calculates to about one MPG plus or minus what the display shows when I fill the tank. I reset the "average MPG" display and the trip odometer when I fill the tank. Average is about 25-28 MPG in mixed driving. My commute is about 60 miles each way, 65% mountain roads, the rest on the freeway. I have seen the display as high as 49.9 MPG coming down the grade between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, CA. I don't baby it. This car now has 107,000 miles and still drives and handles like new. No major problems. What's fun to watch is the "instant MPG" display in my 91 Taurus (3.8) engine. It can show 99 MPG when coasting. Of course it drops to zero when you stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 My '84 Continental sedan had the trip computer, and you could display constant MPG. On the freeway at 70- 75, I was getting 24 mpg. However, when I'd crest the Zilwaukee Bridge, coasting downhill would give me 193 mpg. 193 mpg in a Lincoln- whoda thunk it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale392 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Well, I can tell you that actual calculations over the course of the last 4,000 miles of my cars original 271,000 mile life have been anywhere between 16-19mpg in town and between 26-28mpg on the highway. And this is from a 1991 Mustang GT 5.0/5spd/2.73:1 geared with the above never been rebuilt miles on the odometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my name is nobody Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 my question is: is your Mustang a Stick? or an Automatic? My '01 GT Bullitt gets alot better fuel mileage than yours. its a 5 speed manual, and frequently gets better than 30 on the Highway. at 80+ mph. Once, driving very slow (60 mph) on a lonely two lane blacktop in Montana, that was infested with stupid deer, it obtained 45 mpg over a 90 mile stretch. But then again, this is a manual transmission vehicle, that has had very frequent oil changes in its 15,000 mile life. And only one person has ever driven it. Me........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) My Mustang GT has a feature that displays average fuel economy, constantly updated in "real time." I'm getting exactly 22.0 MPG... and that's in town, no highway driving. Pretty good for a car that the EPA rated at 15 city, 23 highway. With gas back up around three bucks a gallon in my area, I'm a happy camper! Forgive my ignorance, but is that the 4 cylinder model? Is the GT a one engine model? It's hard to relate without more info about engine size and I don't keep that info in my Head Hard Disk. If it's a V8, that's GREAT mileage .. even a 6 it is as my V6 gets only 19mpg on it's 330 hp. (19 mph as calculated readout by the car since bought) Also, if it's an "instant" calculation I can make my car read over 30mpg .. downhill with clutch in. eheh A value calculated since you bought it is the only one that means anything as far as these new-fangled readouts go. Edited October 5, 2010 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 4.6L V8, 5 speed manual. Mike, it's a continuously updated average, but not an instantaneous reading (it has that function too, but I don't use it because it's meaningless... like the example you made, or when you're at a light and getting 0 MPG). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 But then again, this is a manual transmission vehicle, that has had very frequent oil changes in its 15,000 mile life. You can change your oil every week... it's not going to make any noticeable change to your MPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my name is nobody Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 You can change your oil every week... it's not going to make any noticeable change to your MPG. probably not. but when a vehicle sits around like this Mustang, & my Torino do, it is very beneficial to change the oil every four months or so. just used that example to say it is a very well cared for automobile. and when I buy my 2011, it will be treated the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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